Outback Steakhouse execs pile on pay

TAMPA — Saddle the company with debt. Go from a profit to a loss. Get a fat raise.

That's the story for executives at OSI Restaurant Partners, the Tampa owner of Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Carrabba's Italian Grill, among other chains.

Last year, the company brokered a $3.2-billion deal to go private and shield its struggling restaurants from a drubbing on Wall Street. High interest payments on debt from that deal, combined with declining sales and higher operating costs, led to a $64.4-million loss in 2007 on revenue of $4.2-billion, compared with a $100.1-million profit in 2006 on revenue of $3.9-billion, according to a May 9 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In that same period, compensation for the company's four top earners surged from $9.2-million to more than $43-million, including $14.4-million in restricted stock.